Eagles' first-round pick Graham to sign contract

July 30, 2010|By Nick Fierro, OF THE MORNING CALL

In the end, the lost time was minimal — three practice days for Eagles first-round pick Brandon Graham, who late Thursday night agreed to a five-year contract and will arrive at training camp in time for the team's first full practice at Lehigh University Friday afternoon.

Graham, a defensive end from the University of Michigan, was taken with the 13th overall selection after the Eagles moved up to get him.

"Oh man, I can't tell you how excited I am to get there and get it going," Graham said in a phone interview conducted on the team's Web site. "I had talked with [fellow rookies] Daniel [Te'o-Nesheim] and Eric [Moncur], and they were keeping me up to date. I didn't want it to seem like I felt I was better than anybody else. I left it all to my agent [Joel Segal] and I thank him and the Eagles for making this happen and getting me in after missing just a little bit of work.

"I'll be there when the whole team practices for the first time, and that's big for me. I want to show the coaches that I'm ready and that I've been staying on top of what I need to do and that I'm ready to go."

"I'm really glad that we were able to work well with Joel Segal on getting this deal done," team president Joe Banner said. "We're really excited to get Brandon on the field … in time for the start of the first full-team practice."

The Eagles released wide receiver Blue Cooper to make room on the 80-man roster for Graham.